Hundreds of middle school students across the nation are bragging to their friends about their latest math project, which attracted the news media. On March 14, students in three different cities formed a human pi symbol to celebrate national Pi Day. It’s the unofficial holiday recognized by math clubs, schools, and math and science related companies.

Schools in Falls Church, VA, Garland, TX, and Lynwood, CA partnered with Raytheon’s MathMovesU initiative on Pi Day. All the students wore MathMovesU shirts while forming the human pi symbols. Aerial photos of the events appeared on the Associated Press and Yahoo News websites.  Later in the day, images showed up on the Reuters news board in Times Square in New York City. The caption on the news board read, “Raytheon’s MathMovesU celebrates Pi Day and math with human pi symbols at middle schools across the nation.”

Afterward, the students were treated to pizza “pie” and interactive presentations on MathMovesU. Raytheon engineers also spoke to the kids, giving them real-life examples of how the math they learn now will help them outside of school.

“We learned about the history of pi. The MathMovesU video and the trick questions were fun,” said Jimmy Caracheo, a 7th grade student in Garland, TX.

“I think that math is fun! I like my teacher, Ms. Lancaster. She makes all the kids become more enthusiastic about algebra,” said Omyx Evison, an 8th grade student in Falls Church, VA.

“I think celebrating Pi Day and showing students how MathMovesU works will motivate all of them to get more active with math,” said Rae Luck, an 8th grade teacher in Falls Church, VA.

While math and science related jobs are becoming more in demand in the U.S., studies show that American students lose interest in math during middle school years. Consequently, the U.S. lags far behind other countries in students pursuing engineering degrees. Raytheon’s MathMovesU initiative, launched in 2005, engages middle school students in math by illustrating the connection between math, their passions and interests in “cool” careers.

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